Two out of two. Second tournament for Jon Rahm (-9) in LIV Golf and the second time he goes into the third and final day with a chance of victory. Will it be 13 out of 13 by the end of the season? Let’s see who dares to bet against that.
The golfer from Barrika has signed off on a magnificent scorecard of 63 strokes in Las Vegas today, with seven birdies and zero errors, and has placed himself in third position, two strokes behind the leaders Bryson DeChambeau (-11) and Dustin Johnson (-11). Not bad at all as a battle for victory in the second event of the year. Hard to beat this trio in this LIV Golf. It will be the star match. Las Vegas hits blackjack.
It has been a day of many birdies on the par 70 course of Las Vegas Country Club. It’s a short course, with receptive greens and surfaces where the ball rolls very well. Results are made. Of the 54 golfers in LIV Golf today, only five played over par. DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson signed off on 62 strokes and we’ll have to see if we don’t see a scorecard below 60 again tomorrow. We wouldn’t dare to bet against that either.
Rahm has a poker face. What does this mean? Well, he’s got the sharp look and the hunger necessary to add his first victory in LIV. He has placed himself in a discreet background, as if he were ceding the limelight to the two leaders. You guys fight it out, I’ll do my own thing. The reality is that he is playing very well. From the tee he is imperial, with the ball not only in play, but almost always in the best possible position. With the wedges, he also maintains last year’s line. He is very precise and generates very good birdie options. As for the putt, he is very well oiled. He already showed it in Mayakoba and is repeating this week. The one that doesn’t go in is very well thrown. Today, in fact, he started with two birdies in his first three holes, putting from the antegreen.
And as if that weren’t enough, the few times he has been out of position, like on hole 4, his penultimate hole, he has pulled a delicious approach from the rough, high up, and what seemed like a complicated situation to save par, he has turned it into a fabulous birdie. The best possible finish to a great day.
This Saturday’s battle promises to be fantastic. DeChambeau is playing great golf. In fact, today he has probably been the best on the course and his 62 must taste like little. He was going with a partial of eight under par after 13 holes and, suddenly, there the production has run out. He has had more opportunities, but it has been as if the inspiration had gone. Quite the opposite to Dustin Johnson, who finished like a motorcycle, with three birdies in the last three holes to ask for his turn in the queue of serious candidates for victory.
This fight of giants, in a way, overshadows the performance of Peter Uihlein (-9) and Matthew Wolff (-9), although no one should take them out of the equation prematurely. Both are eager to get the thorn out. The former because of the poor performance he had in Mayakoba and the latter because of the blows he received from Brooks Koepka last year, when he was still part of his team. They must be taken into account. Even Jason Kokrak (-8) and, above all, Talor Gooch (-8), who has already shown that he is capable of going very low, have something to say.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, David Puig (-6) is in twelfth position after scoring 67 strokes today. He is in a great position to complete a great week in Las Vegas. Further back and without options are Sergio García (-3) and Eugenio López Chacarra (-3).
Regarding the team classification, there is a tie at the top between Dustin Johnson’s Aces and Bubba Watson’s Range Goats. Two strokes behind are DeChambeau’s Crushers. Rahm’s team is fifth, seven strokes off the lead, and Sergio García’s men are eighth, nine strokes behind.
